This invention relates to a clip for positioning and holding a vehicle door in an open position.
Generally, in the process of manufacturing a vehicle, the vehicle body and doors are painted simultaneously. This is required to ensure color match between the body and the doors, which could not otherwise be guaranteed if the doors were painted separately. In this manner, the door assemblies are fitted onto the door hinges and positioned in proper vehicle orientation. Subsequently, during the painting process, the door assemblies are repeatedly opened and closed to permit access to all of the surfaces to be painted by the painting equipment. During some of these operations, the vehicle doors must be positioned and retained in the open position. Alternately, other operations require that the vehicle doors be positioned and returned in the closed position. Accordingly, the door assemblies must be equipped with means for releasably positioning and retaining the doors in the open or closed position.
Heretofore, difficulties have been encountered in equipping the door assemblies with a suitable detent mechanism, especially those with separate checks. More particularly, due to the overspray of the paint and other adverse environmental conditions, the production check strap assemblies cannot be utilized. Accordingly, temporary check strap fixtures have been utilized. More particularly, a multiple piece check strap assembly is secured to the door assembly and operably coupled to the vehicle body. The temporary check strap fixture provides a detent for the door assembly between an open and closed position. Upon completion of the painting process, the temporary check strap fixture is uncoupled from the body, the door assemblies are removed from the vehicle body and then the temporary check strap fixture is removed from the door assembly. Since each temporary check strap fixture is fairly costly, they are reconditioned by removing excess paint from the fixture and recycled for use again on other vehicle bodies. Thus, these temporary check strap fixtures are costly in design, in installation, and in maintenance.
Additionally, detent mechanisms have been proposed for particular types of hinges which requires the mechanism to be screwed or fastened to the hinge which has a removable hinge pin as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,295, entitled xe2x80x9cThree Diameter Hinge Pinxe2x80x9d. The screw on type detent mechanism adds considerable cost to the door painting process due to fastener cost and additional labor costs for drilling and tapping a receiving hole in the bracket body and the cost of removal. The use of the screw on type mechanism is thus limited to applications which employ this particular hinge.
The disadvantages of the prior art may be overcome by providing a vehicle door prop clip which is easily installed without a fastener and is easily removed.
In a major aspect, the invention comprises a vehicle door hinge-mounted prop clip for a vehicle hinge with split pins, comprising first and second interference lobes defining an undulating circumferential edge, said interference lobes being adapted to sequentially releasably contact a position of the hinge as the door is rotated about first and second axial hinge pins from a closed position to an open position, said contact releasably compressing said interference lobes severally or simultaneously and generating sufficient frictional resistance to releasably hold the door in a partially or fully open position.
In a further aspect, the prop clip comprises a cylindrical sleeve body adapted to be mounted on the first hinge pin, a sector shaped flange extending radially from the body, maintenance means to maintain the prop clip in fixed relationship with one portion of a hinge comprising body side and door side portions, and first and second holes in the flange to define a deformation zone for the first and second interference lobes.
In a further aspect, the maintenance means comprises a cut-out portion of the flange adapted to form fit with a link rotatably mounted between the body side and door side portions of the hinge along a common axis of rotation.
In a further aspect, the radial distance between the axis of rotation of the sleeve and the circumferential extent of the first and second interference lobes slightly exceeds the distance between the axis of rotation of the pin, and a bight portion of the body side portion of the hinge, which bight portion the lobes are adapted to contact sequentially or simultaneously.
In a further aspect, the clip is removable from the hinge without removal of either of said first or second hinge pins.
In a further aspect, the clip comprises a flexible thermoplastic material which may be a mineral reinforced nylon resin.